[MR] ARE we healthy? Beats me!!!

[Rupert Gaddy]

Kwellend-Njal writes..."When the Board asked the membership for commentary
on
election of Board members and/or the ability to remove Board members
there was reportedly little response from the membership.  (Something
I found a little annoying, given that I was part of the team that
worked to put together the proposal.)"

I respond: Well, my comment is that it was at least better publicized than
several of the BOD calls for comment!  I can not speak to why others fail to
respond, except that like me they may feel (correctly or not) that what they
have to say will not really matter in the long run (Is THIS healthy?).  That
certainly is the message that my many comments and emails and requests to
members of the BOD individually and as a group have left me with.  One is
lucky to get even a standard email response. Also I am faced with a rather
unusual fact, that either many people are lying when they say they send a
response, or there exists somewhere a black hole that eats the
correspondence before it can be tallied by the BOD.

A call for response is probably the most inaccurate way to judge the feeling
of a group on ANYTHING.....it tends to skew to the very satisfied and very
unsatisfied ends of the scale leaving out about four standard deviations in
the middle....

Kwellend-Njal writes..."Last, the Board of Directors is just that, a
business group
charged with keeping the SCA, Inc. healthy.  Terms of office shorter
than 2-3 years is impractical for such a body to function well (and,
it is sometimes argued, too short for some jobs the Board should be
doing.)"

I respond: I wonder if we ARE healthy. Are we functioning well? The lack of
data, projections, and other information that most businesses develop and
maintain makes it rather hard to tell if we are healthy or not.  Health
seems to be defined as money in the corporate coffers and no major lawsuits.
Honestly, it is hard to hold people accountable when there is no accurate
measurement to determine just how well they are doing...be it a six month
period or a three year term.

For example, if the IRS or some other body questioned the tax exempt status
on the basis of our charter's statement of our reason for existing... I do
not know if the language of the original charter says a not for profit
educational organization that researches and attempts to recreate life in
the........ or exactly what the wording is, but HOW would we as a society
prove our actions going along with our purpose?  There is little to none
data to show anything society wide, and only a few Kingdoms have attempted a
doomsday type report of the populace. I maintain we would be hard pressed to
show that we are anything other than a group that camps and fights with
wooden swords and rapiers.  While the research and educational efforts of a
few of the populace are documented in TI and various kingdom A&S
publications, this leaves much information as simply "unknown".

I challenge you M'Lord, or anyone else, to PROVE objectively with data that
we are healthy or not healthy.  I extend the challenge on the Kingdom or
Society level, take your pick.  Healthy?  How does SCA membership compare to
past years. Is there a discernable trend? Is it up or down, or are we flat?
Who is entering the society and why? (rather important if one is to recruit)
Who is leaving the Society and why? (needed data if retention is at all a
concern)

What are the most popular activities in the SCA this year?  How does that
differ from previous years? Is there a trend? Has there been constant growth
in some area or activity? Has some area or activity lost many participants?
Is there a reason for this? What is the satisfaction level of people within
various kingdoms? What is the satisfaction level of people with the job the
BOD is doing? Do people THINK we are healthy? Unhealthy?  Why?

What is the profile of a "typical" SCA member?  What age? Married or
unmarried?  Children or no Children?  Combat or non-combat?  Illuminator,
arrow maker, or chess player?

What is the average time of membership in kingdom X compared to kingdom Y in
terms of receiving an AOA?  Is this important or significant in some way?
What percentage of women fight? What percentage of men fight?  Within these
percentages is there evidence of discrimination based on sex? What is the
percentage of female knights compared to the population from which they come
to the percentage of male knights compared to the population from which they
come? (If one could prove discrimination we could well lose our charter or
tax exempt status) Is a person who fights heavy more likely to receive and
AOA than a person who fights rapier only?  Is this a determining factor or
simply an indication of interest and energy?

What skills and areas of the arts and sciences are represented at what level
within the Laurel?  Is this a good thing or a bad thing if only one Laurel
has ever been given in a particular skill area?  Does the number of Laurels
given for Illumination compare with the number given for leather work?  Is
this a good thing or a bad thing...do we need more classes on leather
working at Universities...should we have more leather working  A&S
competitions to increase the interest and ability in this area?  Do certain
skills seem to be geographically centered? Why?

How can one determine IF we are healthy when NONE of the answers above are
known?  And when the BOD refuses to find out this basic information?

And these are the people who should be deciding how to have a crown tourney
in Atlantia????  Leave them to negotiating a society wide insurance policy
and dealing with egregious cases of mismanagement or people posing a
physical or legal danger to the Society members.  Other than these, they are
simply not prepared.

Indeed you are correct the six month term for Crowns is NOT in Corpora, at
least I can not find it either.  I THINK it is in Kingdom Law, but I can't
find my Redtape either!!


Rupert the Persistent